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<TITLE>The Child</TITLE>
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<TD WIDTH="245" VALIGN=CENTER ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#99CCFF" SIZE="3" FACE="Arial, Helvetica, Comic Sans"><B>'The Child'</B><BR><BR><FONT SIZE="3">(Story Code 127)<BR>by Jaron Summers,<BR>Jon Povill<BR>and Maurice Hurley</TD>
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The <I>U.S.S. Enterprise</I> is sent to give medical aid to the Rachelis System, where a deadly plague is sweeping the population. But while the ship is en route, a mysterious glowing ball of white light penetrates the vessel's hull and then impregnates Counselor Troi while she is asleep. Doctor Katherine Pulaski, the new Chief Medical Officer, confirms Troi ‘s pregnancy, and then stuns everyone by announcing that the foetus will reach full term within just thirty-six hours; Captain Picard’s concern at the unnatural event prompts him to place his crew on security alert. Troi soon gives birth to a healthy baby boy, whom she names Ian; however, the apparently harmless child then matures from an infant to an eight-year-old in only one day. Ensign Wesley Crusher makes plans to leave the <I>Enterprise</I> to join his mother, who has left to become Head of Starfleet Medical; but his mind is soon changed after talking to Guinan, the enigmatic bartender of the ship’s Ten Forward lounge, and he asks the captain to allow him to remain on the <I>Enterprise</I>. Meanwhile, in the cargo bay, Doctor Pulaski discovers that the plague specimen that is to be used to find a cure has now become contaminated by an unknown form of radiation, causing it to grow - and at its current growth rate, the deadly plague will kill everyone on the ship within two hours...

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Patrick Stewart (<B>Captain Jean-Luc Picard</B>), Jonathan Frakes (<B>Commander William Thomas Riker</B>), LeVar Burton (<B>Chief Engineer Lieutenant Geordi La Forge</B>), Michael Dorn (<B>Security Chief Lieutenant Worf</B>), Marina Sirtis (<B>Councelor Deanna Troi</B>), Brent Spiner (<B>Lieutenant Commander Data</B>), Wil Wheaton (<B>Wesley Crusher</B>), Whoopi Goldberg (<B>Guinan</B>), Diana Muldaur (<B>Doctor [Commander] Katherine ‘Kate’ Pulaski</B>), Seymour Cassel (<B>Hester Dealt</B>), R.J. Williams (<B>Ian</B>), Colm Meaney (<B>Transporter Chief</B>), Dawn Arnemann (<B>Miss Gladstone</B>), Zachary Benjamin (<B>Young Ian</B>), Dore Keller (<B>Crewman</B>)

<BR><BR><B>Directed by Rob Bowman 
<BR>Produced by Burton Armus, John Mason and Mike Gray
<BR>Executive Producer Gene Roddenberry 
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<BR>21st November, 1988

<BR><BR><B>Notes:</B>
<BR>*Featuring Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander William Thomas Riker, Lieutenant Geordi La Forge, Security Chief Lieutenant Natasha ‘Tasha’ Yar, Lieutenant Worf, Doctor Beverly Crusher, Councelor Deanna Troi, Lieutenant Commander Data and Wesley Crusher
<BR><BR>*The script for this episode was originally planned for inclusion in the aborted series 'Star Trek The Second Phase'

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